This invention relates in general to devices and methods for desalinizing water that take advantage of the fact that sodium chloride dissolved in water separates into anions and cations, and in particular to devices and methods, if any, that employ rotating and focusing magnetic fields.
In many areas of the world, population growth, weather conditions, or both create a need for a method of extracting fresh water from salt water. Although methods exist for such extraction, they are costly and inefficient. This invention discloses a method that is both cheaper and more efficient than those methods already employed.
The main impurity that must be removed from salt water to make it fresh is sodium chloride. Sodium chloride dissolved in water is known to separate into ion forms of its constituent atoms, sodium and chlorine, the sodium atom retaining a net positive charge (an anion) and the chlorine atom retaining a net negative charge (a cation). Because of these electric charges, there are conventional methods for desalinating water that employ an electrical potential to attract the ions to a place where they can be separated from the water.
For example, Meyers U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,095 presents a means for transferring ions using an anode and cathode, both in separate solutions with a cation exchange mat therebetween. It requires a two step process to convert salt water to pure water.
One disadvantage of the methods and apparatuses above is that each produces at least two types of waste as well as pure water. Another disadvantage is that the energy required to separate the salt from the water is relatively high. Further disadvantages exist in that some of the methods and apparatuses require periodic replacement of the elements used to extract the salt, while the others utilize components, such as ion exchange beads and membranes, that are too complicated, expensive, and impractical for large scale applications.
Other advantages and attributes are disclosed expressly or implicitly in the text hereinafter.